Chapter 50
Chapter 50: Third-rate Martial Family Becomes the Best Under Heaven
“Taking on a disciple merely to while away the hours… Is that truly the extent of what you desire?”
“Indeed. I seek nothing further.”
“Hahaha.”
A benevolent warmth graced Yeo Hyeok’s features as he regarded Yanghwi.
“Young Master, the depth of gratitude I harbor toward both you and the Baek household is immeasurable. In all honesty, even had you resolved to run this withered frame ragged with ceaseless labor, I would have submitted willingly. Yet you have refrained from imposing a solitary burdensome condition upon me.”
Baek Muryang made a light, dismissive gesture with his hand.
“The pair of transcendent martial manuals you restored to our lineage already represents an extraordinary stroke of providence, Elder. How could we possibly presume to demand anything more of you?”
“Whenever observers witness such a character, they invariably remark that the individual treads the righteous road and remains untouched by avarice.”
“We are simply fulfilling what basic decency dictates.”
Yeo Hyeok let out another soft, resonant laugh, his expression radiating unvarnished gratification.
“A student, is it… Granted, the martial heritage passed down to me may be modest, yet I cannot casually welcome just anyone under my tutelage.”
“I would expect nothing less.”
“In accordance with your wishes, Young Master, I shall instruct a pupil to pass the idle days; nevertheless, I cannot offer any guarantee that the candidate in question will be the young lad you have in mind.”
“It shall be more than satisfactory if you merely evaluate his innate talent and temperament, Elder.”
After all, that scamp Chudal was certain to clear any test placed before him.
And supposing he fell short? It mattered little.
Yanghwi could readily instruct him in the very martial techniques that Chudal himself had conceived and perfected during his former existence.
“With that settled, let us review the full inventory of gains you gathered throughout this venture.“
Aside from an exceptional prospect such as Chudal, the haul encompassed twenty thousand gold nyang in precious goods, four stalks of Seven-Branch Three-Berry Ginseng, the various spiritual medicines already ingested, and an improved profit distribution negotiated with the Baekseo antiquarian bookshop.
“This extends far past felling two or three birds with one stone; you have secured five distinct windfalls through a solitary outing, Young Master Hwi. Hahaha, you are practically a celestial deity of wealth gracing our halls.”
Assessing the Baek Estate’s standing in light of the riches Yanghwi had obtained brought clarity to their path forward.
“The pressing shortage of liquid funds has been dealt with. How do you intend to allocate the remaining treasury, Clan Head?”
“Hmm. Our clan is expanding with fierce momentum, making enterprise investment an attractive prospect, yet preserving a contingency coffer against unforeseen disasters holds equal merit. It presents quite a conundrum, Steward.”
“Is not fretting over a surplus of gold the most fortunate tribulation one could ask for?”
“Most assuredly, hahaha.”
Yanghwi lifted a hand to solicit attention before voicing his thoughts.
“For the immediate future, holding the funds in reserve as an emergency cushion strikes me as the wisest course.”
“What leads you to that conclusion, Young Master Hwi?”
“Because refining the Seven-Branch Three-Berry Ginseng through alchemical compounding will likely demand a considerable sum.”
In truth, his real motive was to amass the capital required to hire the master healers slated to pass through Ak’an County in the coming days.
Putting pill concoction aside, securing a peerless physician for Mother’s wellbeing took absolute priority.
Throughout his prior life, Jeong Inhwa had succumbed to her lingering infirmity and perished only a handful of years from this period.
Yanghwi refused to remain an idle spectator while she met an untimely end in this second chance at life.
“Hwi’s reasoning is sound. An excess can be as detrimental as a deficit, so we shall opt to broaden our commercial footprint at a steady, measured pace.”
Only after addressing various lingering administrative affairs did the assembly of senior elders finally disband.
Whew. At long last, I can freshen up and visit my brother and sister.
Exiting the council chamber side by side with Gu Ak, Yanghwi offered words of appreciation.
“Brother Gu. My thanks for your steadfast efforts across our travels.”
“Gahaha, pay it no mind. Now I can finally hurry over to see Rangnang.”
Gu Ak gave his chest an affectionate tap. He was undoubtedly verifying the safety of the hairpin he had bought with a portion of the earnings prior to stepping foot inside the Baek Estate.
Having remained away for such a lengthy span, he wanted to present her with the ornament to ease whatever subtle loneliness Yeo Arang might have harbored.
That must be nice.
Observing Gu Ak stirred a fleeting curiosity within Yanghwi as to what it felt like to wed someone and share the passing years together.
Across his former life, he had wandered the jianghu without pause, obsessively refining martial principles and living entirely divorced from romantic affection.
In all fairness, the overwhelming majority of itinerant martial artists trod an identical road.
In this life… perhaps pursuing matrimony might not be such a bad idea.
Carrying that idle notion, Yanghwi quickened his pace toward the living quarters of his younger siblings.
“So! Yeon! Your brother is home!”
The moment his shout echoed across the courtyard, Baek Heonso and Baek Yeonyeon came charging out the doorway.
“Brother! You have returned!”
“Brother!”
Dashing forward with radiant, joyous smiles, both Baek Heonso and Baek Yeonyeon abruptly checked their momentum upon catching sight of Chudal standing just beside Yanghwi.
“Ah, this is Chudal. As of today, he serves as an official retainer of our clan.”
“My name is not Chudal, it is Ihu! Would it kill you to introduce me by my proper name for once?”
Following his indignant protest, Chudal bowed with respectful decorum toward Baek Heonso and Baek Yeonyeon.
“Young Master. Young Mistress. I am called Ihu.”
“Ah, greetings.”
“Hello!”
“Look at you, brat—you grow bolder and more disrespectful with me by the hour, yet you display such immaculate manners before my brother and sister?”
“Well, you admitted yourself that you are an adopted son, Brother. One must cultivate favor with those who hold the legitimate power.”
Ha, the boy actually has a point.
Letting out a soft laugh, Yanghwi turned back toward his siblings.
“So, Yeon. I regard Chudal as I would a brother. I expect the three of you to foster close ties.”
“If such is your desire, Brother, I shall gladly do so.”
“Understood, Brother!”
“It just so happens that So and Chudal share the same age, so spurring each other on through friendly rivalry would be ideal.”
“As you say.”
“In that case, he counts as an older brother to me! I shall address you as Brother Chudal from this moment on! Brother Chudal!”
As Baek Yeonyeon bounded over to his side, Chudal’s cheeks flared with deep crimson.
Having known an upbringing utterly detached from ordinary human warmth, such familial interaction was foreign to him, stirring an involuntary sense of bashfulness.
“Ah, that reminds me. So, have you maintained your daily regimen with the Vessel Thousand Steps?”
“Without fail, Brother! Would you care to witness my progress?”
Answering with crisp vitality, Baek Heonso planted a resolute step forward into the courtyard.
The profound footwork principles governing every single shift in stance revealed that he had practiced day and night without slacking.
“You have done well, little brother. Splendid execution.”
“My deepest thanks, Brother!”
Witnessing Yanghwi softly ruffle Baek Heonso’s hair provoked a sudden, unfamiliar ache within Chudal’s chest.
He does nothing but lecture and needle me, yet he treats his real kin with this level of tenderness?
Seeming to detect that faint prickle of envy, Yanghwi shifted his gaze toward Chudal and addressed him directly.
“You must apply yourself with equal fervor if you hope to earn a place as Elder Yeo’s disciple, Chudal. I place my confidence in you.”
His words carried a steady, reassuring warmth, entirely distinct from his typical teasing banter.
Before his mind could catch up, Chudal blurted out an instinctive reply.
“Yes, Brother!”
In this manner, the burgeoning youth destined to anchor the future of the Baek Estate nurtured their fledgling bonds.
Throughout the elders’ assembly, Steward Han had declared that Yanghwi secured five distinct blessings in a single stroke, but the full tally told a different tale.
Should one factor in the confidential matters he could never divulge, the true harvest was closer to sevenfold.
Resting cross-legged atop his mattress, Yanghwi drifted into contemplation.
When the flow of time reversed, I presumed relying on future foresight would ensure a seamless path. Yet caution and meticulous preparation remain paramount.
His recent excursion had yielded two foundational truths.
First: the immortal core that condensed within him following his temporal regression shared a direct origin with the Sword Immortal Lü Dongbin.
Second: starting from this era, both the Blood Cult and the Bright Cult were secretly extending their tendrils throughout the jianghu, and a failure to thwart their rise would spark the Evil Cult Chaos twenty-five years down the line.
Both pieces of intelligence amount to isolated puzzle pieces. Launching an investigation right now is impossible.
The Sword Immortal Lü Dongbin belonged to the realm of ancient myths.
Relying upon their clan’s fledgling investigative apparatus to unearth traces of such an entity was entirely out of the question.
The predicament surrounding the Blood Cult and the Bright Cult proved identical. For the time being, preventing them from operating covertly and constructing their clandestine apparatus across the provinces remained impossible.
Ultimately, our only recourse is to accelerate the growth of our clan’s martial foundations as swiftly as feasible, constructing the bedrock required to ascend into an esteemed noble house.
Not even a year had elapsed since his return to the past.
While their development progressed ahead of schedule, glaring vulnerabilities endured.
Most notably, the estate lacked dedicated internal institutions tailored to handle specialized affairs, such as a formal medical pavilion or an undercover intelligence division.
A medical pavilion will naturally materialize given sufficient time, but an intelligence network poses an immediate dilemma. Will we be forced to rely on third-party organizations for the foreseeable future?
Possessing an autonomous information network was an absolute prerequisite for attaining the status of a noble house.
However, fashioning an intelligence web demanded astronomical expenditures of both time and silver, meaning that leaning on entrenched operations like the Beggars’ Sect or the Hao Sect stood as the only practical alternative for now.
All the same… the overall state of affairs is moving forward far more smoothly than anticipated.
Their most substantial triumph lay in the rapid expansion of their frontline martial strength.
Gu Ak had performed admirably in his capacity as Master of Reformation Pavilion, steadily rehabilitating dark-path outlaws into reliable combatants.
Allowing a righteous clan to absorb scoundrels from the dark path en masse was ordinarily an invitation to catastrophe; nevertheless, because Gu Ak—a seasoned martial artist who possessed deep roots within the dark path himself—oversaw the process, no severe friction had surfaced.
Integrating Brother Gu into our household was undeniably an inspired decision.
His utility spanned countless fronts.
Even during this recent venture, matters would have deteriorated into severe headaches without Gu Ak present.
Considering his contributions, Yanghwi wondered if the moment had arrived to cease treating the man like a convenient target for mockery and instead afford him the deference appropriate for an estate pavilion master… Not on your life.
The indignant expressions he made whenever provoked were simply too delightful to abandon.
Who could willingly renounce such sheer amusement?
Pardon me, Brother Gu. Kindly endure my antics just until that little fellow Chudal acclimates and begins trading barbs with me.
Having indulged in brazen reflections that would have driven Gu Ak to cough blood and depart the mortal realm in pure outrage, Yanghwi turned his thoughts toward framing his subsequent strategy.
To propel our family’s influence forward at maximum speed under our present circumstances, two vital tasks demand completion.
The first was eradicating both the Gyojin Gang and the Suho Alliance, thereby establishing the Baek household as the uncontested master of Ak’an County.
The second was processing the Seven-Branch Three-Berry Ginseng through alchemical refinement to heighten both its potency and quantity, subsequently distributing the resulting medicine to the retainers to elevate their combat prowess.
In an orderly progression, the secondary objective ought to take precedence, yet an obstacle barred the way.
We require a medical master who wields consummate authority over alchemical refinement alongside herbal craft—one who demonstrates peerless skill in rectifying internal maladies as well as treating traumatic wounds.
Practitioners who matched such exacting standards were virtually nonexistent under heaven.
Compounding the problem, the few who did exist enjoyed vast renown and charged astronomical sums for their services.
Naturally, Yanghwi already held the solution to that dilemma within his memories.
The single drawback is that we must endure a wait of several months before that solution makes its way into Ak’an County.
He ran a hand across his chin, deep in reflection.
Approximately three to four months from this juncture, eminent figures hailing from Sichuan would travel into Ak’an County—individuals who possessed every single attribute the Baek Estate desperately sought.
The Sichuan Tang Clan.
Alternatively recognized across the lands as the Tang Sect of Sichuan.
An ascendant lineage that had expanded dramatically across recent years, their defining characteristic was that while maintaining standing within the righteous faction, their supreme expertise lay in concealed projectiles and lethal poisons.
Owing to the foundational nature of their arts, the Tang Clan naturally boasted a dense concentration of brilliant healers.
He had long since confirmed this truth during his prior incarnation.
Though they had not yet formally attained the tier of a noble house, they were destined to rise as the revered Tang noble house, or the Tang Sect noble house, claiming a rightful seat among the Five Great Houses under heaven.
Forging an alliance with the Tang Clan guarantees boundless advantages. The moment to strike will arrive shortly, and I must grasp it without fail.
A fleeting pang of frustration touched him. Because the Tang Clan was bound strictly by ties of blood and took fierce pride in their internal unity, poaching any of their kin into outside servitude was an absolute impossibility.
Alchemy and medicine—if only there existed a method to assimilate members of the Tang Clan directly into the Baek household, every puzzle piece would fall into place.
Hold on. Just a moment.
An inspired scheme suddenly ignited within his mind.
A stratagem that could draw members of the Tang Clan into Ak’an County this very moment rather than idling away three or four months—and conceivably induce them to settle down within the estate permanently.
Without wasting an instant, Yanghwi sprinted straight toward Baek Muryang’s quarters.
By good fortune, Baek Muryang remained seated at his desk.
“You intend to depart the estate territory once again? What is the purpose behind this, Hwi?”
Beholding the anxiety etched into Baek Muryang’s gaze, Yanghwi proclaimed with unshakable conviction:
“I am merely setting out to apprehend an evil practitioner in order to preserve the tranquility and wellbeing of the common populace under heaven!”
It served as the flawless maneuver—a gambit that would lure the martial adepts and healers of the Tang Clan, who were currently traversing the jianghu pursuing dual objectives, straight into Ak’an County, while securing the Baek household absolute dominance in the negotiations that would follow.
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